The Black Wolf, pt 2
by kinginthenorth23
Summary: James Stark is the eldest son of Ned and Catelyn Stark. Sequel to "The Black Wolf." It starts where we last left off. Ned is dead, the Seven Kingdoms is plunged into madness, and James Stark is on the kingsroad with Yoren and Arya and Sansa. Will they make it back to Winterfell or...read and find out. This is AU. Semi-canon, I suppose. Events of ACOK. OC story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Finally! I've gotten to pt. 2 of the Black Wolf! Now, we are still where we last left off. James, Arya, and Sansa are still escaping on the Kingsroad with Yoren. ****Also since I'm also writing my other story along with this one don't expect me to update that often or the chapters to be as long either. I just don't have the time. I still want to see my other story to finish, so I'll spend most of my time on that one. Don't worry, though, I won't forget about this one. The only issue is that I have to sacrifice chapter length so I can see it done. If you know I like being descriptive so this is hard for me. Maybe when the other one is finally done they can be a little longer, but for now they won't be. **

**Now, my writing style is going to change from her on out. If you read my epilogue story you saw that each chapter was from only a certain characters POV. That is going to change. Also be as long either. I just don't have the time.**

**I don't want to be strictly limited to one POV, so each chapter could contain multiples. Not all of them will be from James's POV (like in the first part), and most will be from somebody else's. This story follows the timespan of A Clash of King's.**

**Each time a POV changes I'll put one of these**

**XXXXXX**

**And I'll put a heading of whose it will be from so you do not get confused.**

**Anyway, enough of my blabbering and let's get to it. **

XXXXXX

**Cersei**

"The raven arrived from the citadel this morning, Your Grace," said the Grand Maester, as they presented Cersei with a white raven from the citadel. "The conclave has met, considered reports from maester's all over the Seven Kingdoms, and considered this great summer, _done_."

Cersei Lannister, the queen regent, merely sighed heavily to herself and looked at the white raven, its black eyes staring back at her. This small council of hers was drawing into the early afternoon and things in the realm have not been as she wished. They were at war, she knew. The Starks, under Robb Stark were fighting the Lannisters, her family. The young boy was coming south with the whole of the North behind him, coming for revenge for the death of Ned Stark. Her father had lost every battle he had fought against the Stark boy, and what was worse was that they had Jaime, her Jaime. Yet Cersei could take solace in the fact that they still had Sansa.

"The longest summer in living memory," Pycelle finished.

"The peasants say a long summer means an even longer winter," added Varys.

"A common superstition," Pycelle spat.

"We have enough wheat for a five-year winter," said Baelish. "If it lasts any longer…we'll have fewer peasants."

"The capitol is overflowing with smallfolk, Your Grace," Janos Slynt, the newly appointed Lord Commander of the Gold Cloaks told her. If it weren't for his treachery, Cersei could perhaps be sitting in a cell with Joffrey. Yet Janos was bought easily, and Ned Stark had been so foolish to confront her. "With winter coming it will only get worse."

"You command the city watch do you not, Lord Slynt?" Cersei asked him. The raven had constantly been cawing and she waived a servant to come over and take it away.

He nodded. "I do, Your Grace."

"Then do your job. Shut the gates to the peasants. They belong in the fields, not in our capitol."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Suddenly she heard the clanking of boots and armor coming into the small council room, clanging and clanking away. Cersei turned to her right to see the Hound coming through with five red cloaks and Ser Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard. They approached the council table and Cersei could tell something had happened. He would never be anywhere beside Joffrey.

Cersei shot from her chair and asked, "What has happened?"

The Hound stood straight like the dog he was as he neared the table with the red cloaks and Trant. He then explained, "We ran into an issue, Your Grace." His voice was rough.

Cersei narrowed her eyes at him. "Out with it then."

He cleared his throat. "It seems that we have run into a problem with the Stark girl. The little bird has flown from her cage."

Cersei was left confused. "What do you mean? Speak plainly."

"She escaped. Sansa Stark is gone."

Cersei's heart constricted into a vice, her breath shallowed. She felt the anger rise in her. _How could this have happened? _Sansa Stark had been under lock-and-key since her father's execution. Cersei had made sure that she was looked after, that there were guards outside her chamber at all times. It was imperative that they had her as a hostage. Without Sansa they had no leverage against the Starks. Without Sansa Robb Stark had no reason to keep Jaime alive…Cersei had to find her.

"How?!" Cersei snapped at him. She saw the eyes grow wide across the small council. "Speak!"

The Hound stood up straight again. "We are not sure, Your Grace. We heard rumbling on the other side and the shifting of furniture. When we opened the door, she was gone. It was as if she disappeared."

Cersei scoffed. "Nonsense. She escaped, and we must find her. Take me to her chambers."

The Hound gave a curt nod and escorted Cersei towards the Stark girls chambers in Maegor's Holdfast. Sansa had been giving a chamber there after her father's execution, at Cersei's own behest. As she followed Sandor Clegane with the guards around her she thought about how the Stark girl could have escaped. Surely, she couldn't have done it alone? Sansa Stark wasn't smart enough for that. She had help, Cersei deduced. But who could have helped her? Sansa had no friends in the Red Keep. _Mayhaps it was Arya, the little animal. None of my spies have been able to find her. No, not Arya. Who…_

Finally they arrived and Cersei found that they had left her chambers untouched. The door was splintered open - clearly she had locked the door on the other side. Cersei's blood boiled as she stepped through the chambers and looked at it. The trunk at the foot of her bed had been throw open violently, clothes spilling out of it like a river of water. On her bed were some more clothes and on the floor was a pooled dress where she had changed. Cersei stepped forward and noticed the table had been thrown over. Yet what intrigued her the most was the map on her bed.

Cersei reached over and took this map in her hands, she did not know what it revealed. It was a map of King's Landing, she realized, yet this map was different. It had red lines going across it, connecting to each other as if they were some sort of system. Cersei did not know. She knew it meant something, perhaps a map of the tunnels that ran through these very walls? _Yes, that is it. Sansa had help, but from whom? _Cersei sat on the bed and looked at the map even more. Who would have had this in their possession? She did not know.

Suddenly she looked up from the map and saw the Hound standing before her. It looked like he had something to say.

"Have something you want to say, Sandor?" she asked him. "Perhaps you know who helped Sansa Stark escape Maegor's Holdfast."

He gave a curt nod. "We found this on the floor, Your Grace. And we also found this." The Hound walked over and threw over another night table to expose a hole in the wall. Cersei could tell it was large enough for someone to fit through.

"Yes, that is how she escaped," said Cersei. "But who helped her?"

This time Meryn Trant stepped forward and extended something out to her. "We found this, Your Grace." Cersei saw a silver bracelet in the palm of his hand. It was made out of sinew, by the looks of it.

Cersei stood up and snatched it, examining it with intricacy. She had seen it before. It looked all too familiar. Suddenly she remembered, it hit her like a storm. This bracelet had belong to James Stark. Cersei had seen him wearing it in Winterfell, when she took him to bed in King's Landing. He wore it everywhere. Now she knew who helped her…it was James. Nobody had heard from the eldest Stark boy since he had fled from King's Landing when his father was attacked in the streets by Jaime. Word was he had died of his wounds, that he went to Riverrun, that he went back to Winterfell. But, no…that did not happen. He clearly stayed in the capitol and took Sansa with him, using this map as a guid. And there was only one place they could go: north. But by what route, Cersei did not know. They could go by ship or up the kingsroad under a disguise. All she knew was that she had to find Sansa Stark again before it was too late.

"And why did you not go after them?" she asked the Hound.

"We did not know where to find them, Your Grace," he answered. "There was nothing we could do."

"Nothing you could do…" she mocked. "You could have sent someone in those tunnels after them, done something! Now we have neither Stark girls. Do you know what situation this puts us in?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

"No matter. We must find Sansa Stark and Arya as well."

"Do you know who helped them?"

Cersei nodded. "Yes. It was James Stark."

XXXX

**Tyrion**

"I want to know how you tricked Father into making you hand?" Cersei said when they were alone. Tyrion had just come into the council chamber fresh from the battlefield. How he had so many adventures. Going to the Wall and pissing off the edge of the world. Captured by Catelyn Stark, given a trial by Lysa Arryn in the Eyrie. He fought with the hill tribes and won them to his side. Yes, Tyrion had so many adventures.

"I didn't convince him to do anything, and if I could I would be king of Westeros by now. So, no, I did not convince him of anything."

"Why are you here?" she pressed again. "I wanted Father, not you. I am regent, Joffrey is king, and I sent him a royal command!"

"And he's ignored you," Tyrion pointed out. "He has quite the large army and can do that. He wouldn't be the first, nor will he be the last."

"I could just crumple up this parchment, name it false and throw you in a dungeon. No one would ignore _that_!"

Tyrion had to tread carefully. "No, no one wouldn't. But why would you want me in a dungeon when I've come here to help you?"

"I do not require _your _help, but our father's. It was his presence I commanded."

"Yes but it is Jaime's you want."

Cersei had always thought herself as subtle, but Tyrion thought otherwise. On her face he saw a myriad of emotions. And what he saw was rage, fear, and despair. "Jaime-"

"-is my brother, too," Tyrion interrupted. "Support me, Cersei, and I can have him freed and back to us."

"How?" Cersei demanded. "Robb Stark and his mother are not likely to forget that we took Lord Eddard's head."

"We have his daughter's, don't we? That has to count for something."

Again he saw her face contort into fear. Cersei for once looked abashed and almost dare he say lost? Tyrion could sense something. "You don't have them?" he questioned. He could feel the surmounting frustration.

"No," she said quietly, "we don't. Both Sansa and Arya escaped. We don't know how."

Tyrion felt his blood boil but kept his composure somewhat. Yet he couldn't let a hiss seethe between his teeth. "What?!" he almost yelled. "How could you have lost them? They were our only bargaining chips, Cersei, and you've lost them. Father would be furious!"

"It is not my fault," she said now. "Sansa escaped through the tunnels of Maegor's."

"And how did she do that? Did a ghost take her?"

Cersei scoffed. "Not a ghost, you little worm, but her brother. This was James Starks doing!"

"James Stark?" Tyrion was taken aback. "How…he hasn't been seen since the Wall."

"He came to King's Landing on a recruiting mission. He was wounded when Jaime attacked Lord Stark in the streets outside Littlefinger's brothel and fled the city. Jaime wouldn't have had to had you not let yourself be captured."

"That was Catelyn Stark's doing." Tyrion sighed. "We cannot let this word get out. Know one need ever know about the disappearance of the Stark children. All they know is that we have them. And that is all that matters. If Robb Stark were to find out that we don't have his sister's…"

"Then Jaime is as good as dead!" Cersei spat. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Tyrion was taken aback. "How could this possibly be my fault?!"

"If you hadn't lead Father into that trap at the Whispering Wood."

"That was not my own doing!" Tyrion corrected. "That was false information from scouts." He groaned in anger. "No matter, Cersei, we must find the Stark children. Just help me with this."

"Fine," she conceded, although Tyrion could see the pain in her face. "We will have Varys send out his little birds. We can have the Gold Cloaks look far and wide in the city. We can put a price for their discovery."

Tyrion disapproved. "That won't get us anywhere. We need to send men after them. James Stark took them, you say?"

She nodded. "I'm sure."

"And how are you so sure?"

He saw her grow nervous, but as usual Cersei regained her composure. "Ser Meryn found an article of clothing that did not belong to Sansa Stark on the floor of her chambers." She tossed what looked like a bracelet onto the council table. Tyrion reached over and picked it up, looking at it. A silver direwolf bracelet made out of sinew, he noticed. Yes, he had seen James Stark wearing this back in Winterfell. It contrasted against the black clothing he was wearing from head-to-toe. _Yet he is not a black brother until the end. James never took his vows too seriously._

"And this belongs to him?" Tyrion asked.

"It does. I've seen him wearing it many a time."

"And are you sure, Cersei?" he pressed again.

"Yes, I'm sure!" she snapped. "Many a time he wore it at Winterfell and when he was in King's Landing."

Tyrion smelled something odd in the air, as if something _else _had happened between the Stark lad and Cersei. _I shall have to find out what that is about as well. _He could read his sister like a book since he was a boy, and he could tell that she was perturbed by the mentioning of his name. Had Cersei done something which could not be undone? Tyrion wasn't sure. All he knew was that he had to find the Stark children or else Jaime was doomed along with the Lannisters.

"We must find them, Cersei."

"Yes, and how do you propose we do that? Where could they have gone?"

"I'm not sure…" Tyrion rubbed his chin. "North, most likely. They cannot know about Robb Stark's whereabouts."

"North is an already obvious answer. How could they have escaped the city?"

"Moving past the Gold Cloaks is not too hard. James Stark is more than capable, I suppose. All he would need to do is guise them."

Cersei tapped her fingers on the table and said, "Yes, a guise. Arya, the little animal could pass as a boy. James could pass as any man. But, Sansa…she cannot pass as anything but a girl. She'll be easy to find."

"Yes, yes." Tyrion waived his hand. "We will speak of this later, Cersei. For now we have done all we can."

"You're not doing enough!" she snapped once more, flaring. "If we don't find them then we can't get Jaime back. We need to help him."

"I can do all that is within my power. But for now tell me about what happened with Lord Eddard…"

Cersei went on and told him that Ned Stark was supposed to take the black, but Joffrey had sought to give the mob a better show. Tyrion knew that the boy had been strong-willed, but had also always been a fool. This time his foolishness plunged them into a chaos of a war, a war they were losing. Robb Stark had won every victory on the field. Cersei then went on about how Janos Slynt was the one who betrayed Lord Stark in the Throne Room when he was about to arrest both her and Joffrey. Tyrion knew that man could not be trusted and had to have him removed from his position. She filled him in on what else happened in the capitol while he was Catelyn Stark's prisoner, too. He kept assuring her he was here to help, but she would never believe him. Cersei was too blind with hatred to ever do that.

Once the assurances were out of the way he went out to survey the city. Bronn went with him and he filled him in on the Stark children. The sellsword told Tyrion all of his suspicions and he already thought of them. After that he went back to his chambers in the Tower of the Hand where he was told that Cersei ordered the death of Robert's bastards. In that horrible ordeal there was a silver lining however, Gendry, another of his bastards was going north with Yoren of the Night's Watch.

Cersei came to him and sat with him in his solar. "What do you want?" she snapped as they sat. "Why did you summon me?"

"I know where the Stark children went," Tyrion told her.

"How?" she asked. "Did Varys tell you?"

"No." He tapped his temple. "I figured it out. You say this bastard, Gendry, went with Yoren a recruiter. Happens I know that man and so did James. If you say James was the one who took them, then why wouldn't he leave the city with someone he knew he could trust? Yoren is that man. James must be with him."

Cersei nodded. "Yes, yes, that makes sense. How will we get them back?"

"I've already sent Gold Cloaks after them. If they come back empty handed then Amory Loch can go after them. Either way we will get them back."

It was all Tyrion could do to win this war for his house and to get Jaime back.

XXXXX

**Arya**

The sun beat down on her neck as Arya Stark made her way down the kingsroad with her brother, sister, and thirty recruits bound for the Night's Watch. _I'm Arry now, _Arya reminded herself. _James said I must be called Arry, Sansa must be called Samwell and he is Brandon, Brandon Snow. _Their lives depended on Arya remembering their false names. It was the only way they could safely cross back north without anyone recognizing them. _James…Brandon, said that we must either go to Riverrun or Winterfell. Robb might be in Riverrun…Mother, too. _How Arya just wished to get a hug from her mother, or see Robb's face again. She bit down on her lip to rid the thought.

Arya rode in the back of the wagon beside Gendry, a bastard boy that James had entrusted to look over her. Gendry did not know she was girl. He, Lommy, Hot Pie and the others just refer to her as Arry. The sun beat down on Arry right now and she raised her arm over her eyes to glare out the sun. Behind her she could hear the muttering of complaints about the heat, the war, anything. Arya could not stand to hear it. It grew on her nervous.

"Be quiet," Arry heard James, Brandon, whisper from the horse he was leading. Arya looked in front of her to see James leading Sansa on a horse. Her sister's hair was shorter than she had ever seen it. It looked as if a tot had hacked at her hair with a blunt knife it was so bad. Arya knew how much she must hate it. Beside her was James in his sellsword outfit. His brown-black hair was down to his shoulders, his face had stubble and mud upon it. His chain mail had begun to weigh him down so he discarded it down the road, instead wearing a simple tunic with boiled leather over it.

"I didn't say anything!" Arry snarled. "It is just this heat…"

Arya saw her brother look up at the sky and he nodded in agreement. "Yes, this heat will be the death of us all. So bloody hot…"

"Not used to the South, my- I mean Brandon?" the bull asked.

James sighed. "Not really. Back in the North it is not too hot. I fear I have grown used to the cold."

"I can't wait to be home," Sansa whispered. "Brandon, where will we go?"

"I'm not sure," he whispered. "Winterfell, maybe. Gods only know where Robb and Mother are."

"Winterfell is the only place we could go," Sansa whispered. "That is home, James."

"It's Brandon," he snapped. "You must remember that, Sansa."

Arya's sister looked abashed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." James sighed. "With all that is going on all I can think about is getting us back home."

"But where is home?" Arya asked.

"Anywhere but King's Landing," he told her. "We don't know where Mother is or Robb. Winterfell is our only bet. We just mind ourselves, keep quiet, and move north with Yoren." James glanced about. "And keep close to me and Yoren. This lot is nothing but trouble."

Arya could agree to that. Yoren had taken grown men from the dungeons as well, thieves and poachers and rapers and the like. The worst were the three he'd found in the black cells who must have scared even him, because he kept them fettered hand and foot in the back of a wagon, and vowed they'd stay in irons all the way to the Wall. One had no nose, only the hole in his face where it had been cut off, and the gross fat bald one with the pointed teeth and weeping sores on his cheeks had eyes like nothing human.

They took five wagons out of King's Landing, laden with supplies for the Wall: hides and bolts of cloth, bars of pig iron, a cage of ravens, books and paper and ink, a bale of sourleaf which Yoren liked to chew, jars of oil, and chests of medicine and spices. Teams of plow horses pulled the wagons, and Yoren had brought two coursers and a half-dozen donkeys for the boys and Sansa. Arya would have preferred a real horse, but the wagon was just fine.

The men paid her no mind, but she was not so lucky with the boys. She was two years younger than the youngest orphan, not to mention smaller and skinner, and Lommy and Hot Pie took her silken to men she was scared, or stupid, or deaf. They had been harassing her since they left, but James was there to scare them off. Hot Pie was scared of her brother and Gendry, too. He and Lommy would say nothing against them.

They had tried to take Needle from her one morning and Arya knocked Hot Pie off his donkey. The bakers boy had come at her but she danced around him as Syrio had taught her. She hit him in the head with her wooden sword, his cheek and knees as well. The fat boy stumbled and fell but Arya kept hitting him. James could do nothing but watch, not wanting to show that she meant something to him, so Yoren intervened.

James had to watch as she was slapped across the thighs by Yoren and there was nothing he could do. Arya glanced and saw him as he could only watch. She saw him clench his hands, grind his teeth, and just stand by Sansa's side. There was nothing he could do, both of them had to play their part. It had worked for a little, but Arya didn't know how long it would last. It would be just a matter of time before Sansa's hair began to grow back and they would see she was a girl. James would have to fight the whole group then. Arya would help him, of course, and fight as Syrio would have of her.

After the spanking she chewed on some sour leaf and it helped some. The taste of it was foul and it made her spit look like blood. Even so, she walked for the rest of that day, and the day after, and the day after that, too raw to even sit a donkey or the wagon. James was sort of distant and near Sansa, but Arya had Gendry by her side to watch over her. He knew who she really was. Hot Pie was worse off; Yoren had to shift some barrels around so he could lie in the back of the wagon on some sacks of barley, and he whimpered every time the wheels hit a rock. Lommy Greenhands wasn't hurt, yet he stayed as far away from Arya as he could get. Gendry told her that he twitched whenever he saw her.

That night she lay upon her thin blanket on the hard ground, staring up at the great red comet. The comet was splendid and scary all at once. "The Red Sword," Gendry had called it. He claimed it looked like a sword, the blade still red-hot from the forge. When Arya squinted the right way she could see the sword too, only it wasn't a new sword, it was Ice, her father's great sword, all ripely Valyrian steel, and the red was Lord Eddard's blood on the blade after Ser Illyn had cut off his head. James had made her look away when it happened, yet it seemed to her that the comet looked like Ice must have, after. _Yet James saw it, _Arya remembered. She knew that her older brother had been hurting since that day. One night she heard him whimpering in his sleep, but Arya pretended not to notice. James would never admit his weakness, even though she had heard him. He had changed since then, too. Ever serious, prone to anger when he never really had been. James was always happy before he left for the Wall…and then he changed forever.

That night he and Sansa slept beside her. Usually they did not since James was always worried about someone discovering who she was. He crawled beside her slowly, Sansa with him, and they laid there in silence for some time. Soon he began to speak and they spoke of happier times in nothing but whispers. They spoke of Winterfell and their family. They laughed and cried as well.

"Will we see them again?" Arya asked her brother.

"Yes," he whispered, filled with hope. "Bran will ride out and meet with us when we arrive. Won't that be such a surprise, Arya? Bran to see all three of us safely home…"

"But it won't be the same," whispered Sansa. "Mother will be gone, as will Father as well…"

"If only I could have saved him," James said.

"And you would be dead with him, stupid," Arya told him. "Who knows where me and Sansa would be."

"I'm not sure." James sighed. "And what does it matter anymore? We can't do anything about this. All we can do is survive."

"Will Cersei send people after us?" Sansa asked now.

"More than likely. Cersei knows we are important."

"But how will she know you took us?" asked Arya. "There is no way."

James turned over to face her on his blanket. His hair was short now and his beard full and dirty. "Cersei has her ways. That woman is nothing but bad."

"I wanted to be like her," Sansa admitted. "But not now. Never now."

"Damn the Lannisters," whispered Arya, "and damn Joffrey."

"Aye," was all James could say.

"I don't know how I could have liked him," Sansa told them. Her auburn hair was short now to her ears. She sort of looked like a boy, Arya mused.

"All girls like the idea of being a queen." James coughed slightly.

"Yes, that was it," Sansa said now. "And he was a monster."

"A monster…" Arya echoed. She knew that monsters had to be killed and she would have done it herself. If only…

"We just have to keep quiet and we'll be back home soon," James whispered now. His silver eyes flickered in the moonlight. "It will be some time, but we will get back there one day. One day…" He drifted off to sleep.

When at last she slept, she dreamed of home. The kingsroad wound its way past Winterfell on its way to the Wall, and Yoren had promised he'd leave her there with no one any wiser about who she'd been. She yearned to see her mother again, and Robb and Bran and Rickon…but it was Jon she thought of the most. She wished she could see him before going back to Winterfell. Arya could imagine him mussing her hair and telling her he missed her. She would have liked that. She would have liked that better than anything.

**A/N: This story won't really focus on Robb's or Catelyn's or anyone elses storyline really. I don't think James's existence will change anything regarding Daenerys or Jon, which is why we never see them. Will we see them in the future of this series...yeah, but not for some time. This story will focus mostly on James, Sansa, Arya, Tyrion and King's Landing. It will stay sort of canon to a point. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, sooner than expected! I'd like to give a special shout out to my beta for this story, Arian Eripmav. Were it not for him, I don't know if I'd be updating today. More reviews=more motivation. Lol, jk, I don't care.**

**Disclaimer: GRRM owns all.**

**Chapter 2**

**Arya**

They traveled from sun rise to sun down, past woods and fields, through small villages, crowded market towns, and stout holdfasts. Come dark, they would make camp and eat by the light of the moon and the Red Sword. Arya would eat with Gendry and the other boys while James would be alone usually with Sansa and Yoren. _Whatever we must do to get back home. _The men took turns standing watch. Arya would glimpse firelight flickering through the trees from the camps of other travelers. There seemed to be more camps every night, and more traffic on the kingsroad by day.

Morning, noon, and night they came, old folks and children, big men and small ones, barefoot girls and women with babes still latched on to their breasts. Some of them drove wagons or bumped along in the back of ox carts. More rode: horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, anything that would walk or run. Arya even once saw a smith pushing a wheelbarrow with his tools inside, hammers and tongs and even an anvil, and a little while later a different man with a different barrow, only inside this one were two babies in a blanket. Most came on foot with their goods on their shoulders and weary, wary looks upon their faces. They walked south, toward the city, toward King's Landing, and only some could spare Yoren a word and his charges, traveling north. She wondered why no one else was going north, too.

"They're fleeing the war," James said one day when she asked him. "War has come to the Riverlands and they're going to the capitol. Everywhere we walk there is war." Arya knew he was right in that assumption. Many of the travelers were armed; Arya saw daggers and dirks, scythes and axes, and here and there a sword. Some had made clubs from tree limbs, or carved staffs. They fingered their weapons and gave lingering looks at the wagons as they walked by, yet in the end they let the column pass. Thirty was too many, no matter what they had in those wagons. James had said that no one would dare attack against so many men, and Arya knew that to be true as well. No one had dared laid a finger.

Some men had come by and even offered to buy whatever was in the wagons. Yoren only spat and told them to bugger off, that war was coming and these supplies were needed. Along the road as well she had seen graves for children, elderly, women, men, and even animals. Most had died along the road. Some had jewelry buried with them and Lommy wanted them for himself. But Gendry said to leave the dead be so Lommy did. Each day that had passed since then they did not go without seeing a grave along the road.

In the night was when she felt sort of frightened. One night she awoke to being so for no real reason, and the only thing which kept her calm were the stars. They shone brightly alongside the Red Star, which James said was a comet. Arya had learned about them in Winterfell during Maester Luwins lessons. She didn't know what it meant, though. Some of the men in the party said it was red for the Lannisters, some said that it was for Lord Eddard. Others said it meant a great war was ahead, but Yoren insisted that comets don't fall for men. Arya didn't know. It just sent shivers at night and made her clutch Needle even more.

They kept on the road some more and along the way one of the men had died. The men had stripped him of valuables and such: his boots, dagger, and mail shirt. Even Yoren gave Gendry the man's own longsword.

Afterwards that evening they stopped in a village at a tiny inn. Yoren counted the coins in his purse and decided they had enough for a hot meal. James told her that it would be fine for the night, and that they should just stay by his side. Arya nodded and did as bid with her brother and sister beside her. Some of the boys had gone to bath, but Arya nor Sansa did not dare, even though they both probably smelled as sour and stinky as Yoren by now. Arya knew that her sister probably hated being so dirty. Some of the creatures living in her clothes had come all the way from Flea Bottom with her; it didn't seem right to drown them. Tarber and Hot Pie and Gendry joined the line of men headed for the tubs. James went as well and came back soon with dripping short wet hair and a clean beard. Arya had not seen him so clean since Winterfell. Others settled down in front of the bathhouse. The rest crowed in the common room. Yoren even sent Lommy out with tankards for the three in fetters, who'd been left chained up in the back of their wagon.

Washed and unwashed alike supped on hot pork pies and baked apples. The innkeeper gave them a round of beer on the house. Arya just sat alone with James and Sansa, sipping her tankard cautiously between spoonfuls of pie still warm form the oven. Her father had sometimes let her have a cup of beer, she remembered. Sansa used to make a face at the taste and say that wine was ever so much finer, but Arya had liked it well enough. Even now as she sat beside James across from her she still grimaced at the taste. But she had no choice, Arya knew, for the water was not clean and there was no wine. It made her sad to think of her father now.

"Do you think they know?" Arya asked James as they sipped on their tankards of ale. Sansa was quiet and so was their brother. _James is always quiet now. Where was the brother who would tease Robb or Jon? Where did he go?_

"Yes, Robb would have come to know by now," James replied in a decadent tone.

"And mother?" she asked, her voice as inquisitive as ever however there was a tinge of pain to it now.

"I don't know, Arya," he said, looking up from his tankard. "I don't even know where mother is."

"You told me she was at the Vale," Sansa said, finally joining the conversation. She had taken to keeping silent for the past few days since they had been on their journey back to Winterfell.

"Yes, she was at the Vale but I'm not sure anymore." Arya could hear the sadness in her brothers voice by the thought of not knowing whether their mother was safe or not.

"When was the last you heard of them?" Sansa asked again.

James shook his head lightly, sending water dripping down his forehead. "I have no idea. Last I heard about Mother she had taken Tyrion Lannister. Last I heard from Robb he was calling his banners. Who knows…"

Arya nodded and sipped on her tankard again. The inn was full of people moving south, and the common room erupted when Yoren said they were moving the other way. The innkeeper only said that they would be back soon enough because there was no going north. All of the Riverlands was at war with half the fields burnt, and the folk holed up in their holdfasts. They went back and forth till Yoren said, "That's nothing to us. Tully or Lannister, it makes no matter. The Watch does not take sides."

_Lord Tully is our grandfather, _Arya thought. She shared glances with her siblings because it mattered to _them_, but they just kept quiet and listened.

"It's more Lannister than Tully," the inn keep continued. "The wild men have come down from the Mountains of the Moon, try telling them to take no part. And the Starks are in it too, the young lord's come down, the dead Hand's son…"

Arya sat up straight, straining to hear. James did as well. He rose his head curiously from his tankard, as did Sansa. Arya knew they meant Robb.

"They call him the Young Wolf," another man said, he had yellow hair with a tankard in hand. "They say he rides into battle on top of a giant direwolf."

"Fool's talk." Yoren spat.

"The man I heard it from, he saw it himself. A wolf big as a horse, he swore."

"Swearing don't make it true," the innkeeper said. "If you keep swearing you'll pay what you owe me, and I've yet to see a copper." The common room erupted into laughter after that.

"Have you heard about his whereabouts?" James asked now, the room having fallen silent. Yoren gave him a glance, but her brother kept firm. "Any word about the Stark lad?"

The innkeeper shrugged, cleaning a tankard with a cloth. "Word was he was in Riverrun…" he paused. "Or maybe near the Trident. No one truly knows."

James nodded and went back to his tankard, looking to Arya and Sansa both. "Riverrun," he whispered. "We must go for it. That is where they are. It only makes sense."

"But what if they aren't, Ja-I mean, Brandon?" asked Sansa. "What if you're wrong?"

"Then we'll at least be with family, stupid," said Arya. Sansa gave her a hard glare but James silenced it with his own.

"Arya's right," he said now. "Mother and Robb would go there, I know it. And if they are not there, then we can at least seek refuge by our grandfather or uncle Edmure. They'd help us." He took another sip.

"So do we go to Riverrun?" Arya asked again.

"Yes, we do. I see no other choice."

"But what about Winterfell?" said Sansa.

"Winterfell is too far, and gods know if we can make it there. You hear these men, Sansa. The Riverlands is at war, I doubt we'll make it to Moat Cailin and all the men, even Mother, are at Riverrun. It's our safest bet."

"I agree," said Arya. "We have no other choice."

"Lower your voice," James urged. "You don't know who's listening."

Arya nodded again. They did not talk about it anymore after that because Arya could see that her sister had come to agree. Sansa and James kept quiet along with Arya. The night was uneventful as they all had been. Some of the men had began to talk about a pack of wolves that were terrorizing the Gods Eye. They were going around killing horses, sheep, dogs, cows, and even men. A woman had said they were led by some she-wolf who was the size of a horse. _Could it be Nymeria? _Arya thought at the time. James and Sansa thought it was. What other wolf was that large besides a direwolf? Arya knew it was where her and Jory had left her precious direwolf. It was when stupid Joffrey had hit Micah and ordered him killed. _That was the Hound's work, and one day I'll kill him for it. _They'd had to shout and scream and throw stones, and the direwolf had finally stopped following them. She knew by now she probably wouldn't even know her.

Arya just let herself wonder.

XXXXXXX

**James**

"Brandon, up here!" yelled Yoren, the Nightwatch's recruiter wanting for James to join him at the front of the caravan.

Telling Gendry to keep an eye on Arya and Sansa, James trotted his horse up to Yoren's and fell in discussion with him.

"We'll take the route along the Red Fork, this way we can avoid the kingsroad to the North," Yoren told him, "and then take the route along Ironman's shore to the North."

James nodded in understanding. "I'd be leaving Arya and Sansa at Riverrun with my grandfather and uncle. I believe my brother and mother to be there as well. I'm sure they'd keep them safe there. The journey to Winterfell will be longer and dangerous."

"You mean to come back to the Wall?" he asked, raising a black eyebrow. "Gods, boy, Mormont probably thinks ya dead. You could just pretend to be so."

James shook his head. "No, the Old Bear would find out sooner or later that I was still breathing. And you know what they do to deserters…"

"But y'didn't desert. You were on a mission by the Lord Commander himself."

"You think he'd care?" James allowed himself a small chuckle. "The man is as honorable as he is stubborn. I have no choice but to return. I took an oath."

Yoren himself laughed, spitting some of the sourleaf he was so fond of. "Since when have y'cared for y'vows, boy? I've seen you go to Mole Town half o' dozen times with the other brothers. Now you have your chance to be free."

James shook his head. _Father would tell me I took an oath. _Thinking of Lord Eddard made him sad. "No, I must return to my post. My watch does not end until my death."

"You're a fool," he said with a laugh. Yoren spit again. "And I'll bet a hundred dragons, boy, that they'll send the red cloaks to Riverrun once they receive word you're there."

"Yes, but a few red cloaks are no match for the lord of the Riverlands. Wouldn't you agree?" James asked, arching his eyebrow.

"Aye, that's true besides I doubt the red cloaks would recognize the girls once they are hidden out of sight."

For a while they rode in silence before Yoren called the convoy to a halt. James got off his horse and went in search for his sisters. Some of the men were sitting around fires, cooking their midday meals. Meat, cheese, sausage, dark brown ale…it was food from the Night's Watch, he could tell. They would eye James wearily, snort, and return to their fires. They thought him a scoundrel for being a sellsword, but he would have it that way. _Whatever we must do to stay alive. _Some of the other boys were cleaning pots in the nearby crook and one of the men was having a shite. Another was pissing on a tree, and a few were cleaning their clothes as well. James only minded his business and walked around them.

He saw Sansa in the distance, sitting all by herself, knowing that Arya would no doubt be with Gendry he decided to go and sit beside her. He was walking towards her when out of the corner of his eye he saw Arya push Gendry, off his feet and onto the ground. He decided to intervene, but when he analysed them closely he observed that the two were laughing and were all smiles. He saw Gendry get up and bow low to Arya, irritating her enough to shove him into the ground once again. James was glad he told the lad who they really were. He had come to trust the young smith. Gendry was much like his father. It seemed he had all his strengths but none of his weaknesses but then again it was too early to say, all James knew was that Gendry could be trusted.

As James sat by his little sister the wind began to pick up. The trees began to rustle in the wind, and the leaves danced upon the ground. It reminded him of the Wolfswood outside of Winterfell. Now he looked at his little sister, who looked nothing like her former self. Her riding tunic had mud streaked across, her jerkin as well. Her breeches had crusted old dirt, mud, and a few tears. Even her riding boots were soiled across the sole. Her once beautiful auburn hair which she used to love more than life was hacked to the ear. _My little sister is somewhere in there, _James thought. Sansa had changed as well, having seen the death of their father. She was often morose and sad. His little sister who came to him crying after an argument with Arya, who loved songs, flowers, poetry, knights and chivalry was dead. _The girl who was to be a queen…_James could remember how excited she was at the prospect.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked quietly.

Sansa only said, "Where is Arya?"

"With Gendry. She's fine, Sansa."

"And what about you?" she asked, turning to look at him with piercing blue eyes. "How are you fairing, James?"

"Brandon."

"James," she insisted with a tone he'd never heard from her. "It's the name Father and Mother gave you. Would you forget about them so soon?"

_Who are you? _"I haven't forgotten. I am still a Stark."

"That didn't help in the past."

James was growing irritated. "Do you wish to speak about it, Sansa?"

"Speak about what?" she picked up a leaf, eyed it, and threw it away in disgust.

"I saw it, too, you know." James crossed his arms against his legs. "I saw him…"

"Don't," she said, softly and clearly hurt. "I don't want to even _think _about it."

"Think about what?"

Sansa turned away from him suddenly with what looked like tears in her eyes. James, having always had a soft spot for her, scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm about her. Sansa tensed for a moment but finally relaxed. "We shouldn't be seen doing this," she whispered. "The boys will ask questions."

"Let them ask, Samwell," he japed. "I care not."

She chuckled, reminding him of the Sansa of old. "A dumb name. I couldn't think of anything better."

"Brandon is not so clever either." James then looked at her, and she him. "What is bothering you?"

"It's my fault," she said suddenly with what sounded like regret. "It's my fault Father died."

James couldn't believe his ears. "Don't say that. You did all you could for him. You told me how you pleaded for his life and Joffrey betrayed you. It's his fault. He's the monster."

"But it's mine, too, James." Her eyes looked at him with sadness. "I-I had a part."

James disentangled from her. "What part could you have to play, Sansa?"

She looked away for a moment and then back at him with tears falling. "I-I-I told Cersei that Father wanted to leave for Winterfell. I-"

James looked away from her. He said nothing, did nothing, and couldn't even look at her. He could feel the anger flow through him, but he kept calm. He could never yell at Sansa for anything. James knew that Lord Eddard would never blame her. He would hold her, kiss her head, and tell her he was to blame. But James would never be his father. He would never be him. Could never be an ounce of that once great man who he called his father. That honorable man. He only kept quiet as she continued, "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have now, but I wanted to be queen. I didn't want to leave, and-and I'm sorry, James. I-"

"Don't," he seethed softly, like a hiss through his teeth. James couldn't look at her. He understood why she did it, but couldn't bear to do what their father would have.

"But-" she began, but he only looked at her with loathing once more. James then said, "I could never hate you, but…I just can't right now, Sansa. I can't forgive you for this right now. I'm sorry." He braced her shoulder, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and walked off to find Arya. James had to make sure she was all right. He would not tell her of what Sansa just told him. Arya would be less forgiving, blame her, and only make Sansa feel worse. James couldn't allow dissension between the three of them. Not now. Not now…

He found his little sister at the cage where the three men were fettered and chained. Yoren said no one was to go near them or talk to them. James was happy to oblige. They even scared him. One of them had red and silver hair, another a missing nose, and one had marks on his face. James did not care to know them.

Arya was hitting the bald one square in the face with a wooden stick, much to their anger. The one without a nose was cursing at her, the bald one vowing to fuck her with said stick. The foreign one was just smirking and saying something he couldn't hear. James heard enough. He walked over to his sister, grabbed her by the shoulder, and dragged her away. "Let go!" she yelled, twisting from his grasp. "Let go, Ja-Brandon!"

"What are you doing?" asked James. "Yoren said no one was to go near those three."

"They don't scare me," Arya said.

"Then you're stupid. They scare _me_." James's hand went to the hilt of his sword and the bald one began to laugh. "Let's get away from them, Arry."

Arya scuffed petulantly at the ground with her foot, but she let James lead her around a group of trees. _Arya will never change. _As children they weren't as close because she clung more to Jon and James to Sansa, but this trip had brought them closer than ever. As they walked away he could the bald ones hisses.

"Who are they?" James asked.

"The bald one's Biter," she told him, "and the noseless one is Rorge."

"And the foreign one?"

"Some man named Jaqen H'ghar. He's from Lorath."

"Lorath. I've never been there."

Arya only sighed and said, "Of course you haven't. Anyway, where is Sansa?"

"Over there." James pointed to her. Sansa was still sitting on the ground, but was in his line of sight. "She'll be fine. She wanted to be alone for a few moments."

"Oh," she said. Arya fingered Needle's hilt, the sword Jon had given her. "Do you want to fight?"

James couldn't help but snigger. "Fight? Why?"

"I want to hit something. Syrio taught me."

"I know. I remember."

"So, do you?"

James shrugged. "I fear it wouldn't last long. I'd hurt you."

"You would not."

"You don't know how strong I am."

"You don't know how quick I am."

James smirked. "You're asking for it, Arry." He drew his longsword. "This is cheap steel, but it'll still cut you. Might leave a nasty wound, too."

Arya drew Needle. "This is good steel, so it's realer than yours."

James shook his head. "Promise not to cry if I cut you? I recall you running to Mother once when Robb and I let you spar."

"I did not!" she yelled. "And I promise if you will." She turned sideways, into the water dancer's stance, but James did not move. He was looking at something else in the distance. "What's wrong?" she asked.

James saw in the distance six men in the black ring mail and the golden cloaks of the City Watch. One was an officer; he wore a black enamel breastplate ornamented with four golden disks. They drew up in front of them. James saw white lather under their saddles. the horses had been ridden long and hard. James took his sister by the arm and drew her behind a tree. Sansa came running over to them as well and she cowered next to him. "Be quiet," he told them. "They might be here looking for us." They nodded and James just watched with them.

"You men," one of the gold cloaks shouted. "You the ones left to take the black?"

"We might be," came a cautious answer.

"We'd rather join you," someone else said. "The Wall is cold."

The officer dismounted. "I have a warrant for a certain boy, and would enquire whether or not you've heard news of-"

Yoren stepped out and fingered his beard. "Who is it wants this boy?"

The other gold cloaks were dismounting to stand beside their horses. "Who do they want?" Sansa asked.

"Not sure," James whispered. "Just keep quiet."

She nodded again when the officer said, "The queen wants him, old man, not that it's your concern." He drew a ribbon from his belt. "Here, Her Grace's seal and warrant."

"Who could they want?" Arya asked.

"Do you think it's us?" asked Sansa.

"Be quiet," James whispered again.

Yoren fingered the ribbon. "Pretty," he spat. "Thing is, the boy's in the Night's Watch now. What he done back in the city means nothing but piss and shite."

"The queen does care, old man, and neither do I," the officer said. "I'll have the boy."

James thought about running, in case they were after them, but he knew they wouldn't get far on their donkey when the gold cloaks had horses. And he was tired of running.

"You'll have no one," Yoren said stubbornly. "That's the law."

The gold cloak drew his sword. "And here is my law, old man."

Yoren looked at the blade as if it were funny to him. "That's no law, just a sword. Happens I have one too."

The gold cloak laughed. "This lot?" said one with a broken nose. "Who's first?" he shouted, showing his own sword.

Two men came out with steel of their own, offering to fight, and soon everyone had come out with a dagger, sword, or knife in hand. Even one man had a crossbow. The man with the broken nose thought it was still funny. "Put those away before you girls hurt yourselves. None of you even knows which end to hold a sword."

"_I do!_" Arya yelled, running from James's grasp. She drew Needle and went into the water dancers stance.

"Arya!" James whispered hoarsely. "Get back here!"

She ignored him and stood her ground as the man scoffed. "Go away, little boy, no one wants to hurt you."

"I could hurt you!"

"We don't want you." The officer jabbed his sword at Gendry. "It's him we want, the bastard."

"Me?" Gendry said, pointing at himself.

But it was a mistake to take his eyes off Yoren, even for an instant. Quick as that, the black brother's sword was pressed to the apple of the officer's throat. "Neither's the one you get, less youcwant me to see if your apple's ripe yet. I got me ten, fifteen more brothers around me that you can't see, if you still need more convincing. I was you, I'd let loose of that sword, spread my cheeks over that horse and gallop back to the city." He spat and poked him harder with the sword. "Now."

The officer's fingers uncurled, dropping his sword. "We'll keep that," Yoren said. "Good steel's always needed on the Wall."

"As you say. For now. Let's go!" The gold cloaks sheathed and mounted up. The officer reeled his horse around again. "And we're also looking for James Stark and his sisters. They were last seen upon the kingsroad. Any information towards their capture will be rewarded, as word by Lord Tyrion Lannister, the Hand of the King."

James felt nervous in his own skin, as did Sansa as well. She clung against him and he only held her protectively. He looked around to see that no one was paying them any mind. All of their attention was on the gold cloaks. James was fortunate for that, but was still angry that Arya was standing there with Needle brandished, bringing attention to herself.

"James Stark?" Yoren spat on the ground. "Haven't seen him in ages. You're chasing ghosts."

The gold cloak stared him down."You'd best scamper up to that Wall of yours in a hurry, old man. The next time I catch you, I believe I'll have that head of yours along with the bastard boy's."

"Better men have tried it." Yoren slapped the offer's horse with the flat of his sword and sent him off down the kingsroad. His men followed.

When they were out of sight, Hot Pie began to whoop but Yoren looked even angrier. "Fool!" he yelled, "You think he's done with us? Next time he won't prance up and hand me no damn ribbon. Ge the rest out o' them and we need to be moving. Ride all night, maybe we can stay ahead o' them for a bit." He drew up the officer's longsword. "Who wants this?"

"Me!" Hot Pie said, but James ran out from the tree and pushed the boy out of the way. The boy fell with a thump. James knew that the gold cloaks steel was better than his own, and he needed it more than some bakers apprentice. Yoren handed him the sword and James sheathed it.

Arya ran back to James and Sansa with Gendry. When they were alone he yelled, "What were you thinking, Arya?! You could have led us to be discovered!"

"No I couldn't have. They were stupid."

"Gods, you never think!" James groaned in anger. "Damn those lessons. They've only made you worse." He glared at her. "Don't do that again!"

"I'm sorry," she said, sort of abashed. "I won't do it again."

James sighed heavily. "I'm sorry for yelling. I know I'm not Father." He shook his head. "Regardless, they're looking for us and we have to keep even more to ourselves. Don't do anything to spark their curiosity."

They all nodded when Yoren came up to them. "Queen wants you bad, boy," he said to Gendry.

"But why?" Arya asked. "He's just…"

"A bastard?" Gendry crossed his arms. "Yes, that's what I am, and I don't care."

James thought of his brother Jon then. He wondered how he was doing up at Castle Black. Yoren then said, "I don't see why she would want you, either. But they can't have you regardless." He looked to James. "Brandon, keep _them _close by you. First sight of a gold cloak, make for the Wall like a dragon's on your tail. The rest o' us don't mean spit to them."

"Except for you," James pointed out. "That man wants your head."

"And he's welcome to try," Yoren spat.

Yoren then went by his way. Did they know that Gendry was Robert Baratheon's bastard? James wondered, there could be no other reason to send a couple of gold cloaks this far up the kingsroad. That must be it. James could see so much of King Robert in the boy that it was beyond belief. He could still recall his own father's reaction when he first saw Gendry at Tobo Mott's shop. James would have no idea he was a king's bastard if Lord Eddard had not told him.

James turned to look for Arya and Gendry who were standing by the stream. Sansa just clung next to him and he looked down at her with a soft smile. "Go with Arya and Gendry," he told her. "I'd like to be alone for a while."

When Sansa was off he sunk down in front of a tree. James sighed; he knew his father meant to protect Gendry from all harm but was he to honour his father's wishes at the cost of sacrificing the safety of his sisters.

James was in a dilemma. Was he to look out for his family or safeguard his father's honour?

Family, Duty, Honor, those were the words of the House of Tully. The words his mother abided her life by. Again he thought about how they had to make for Riverrun. Maybe this was his trial, a trial which he couldn't afford to fail.


	3. The end

**Authors note: hey, it's been a minute, and I'm sure no one follows or will even read this anymore. If you're wondering will I continue this or truly anymore stories, the answer is: no. I've lost my motivation to write, and i don't have the will anymore. There is school now and I'm too busy, regardless. Thanks to any real fans who liked my work, although I know they were few in number, and if you were wondering the fate of this story shoot me a PM and I'll tell you. Again, thank you for reading.**


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